A memory bank typically consists of contiguous storage containing a set of consecutive program instructions, data, or both. Features of a memory bank are often found in a bank descriptor associated with the memory bank. A bank descriptor is often stored in a bank descriptor table (BDT) that includes many bank descriptors, each containing the description of a different memory bank. Bank descriptors in a BDT are usually referenced with a bank descriptor index (BDI).
Most conventional systems contain at least one common bank, which is a memory bank that is shared with multiple programs so that each of the programs associated with the common bank can access information in the common bank. In conventional systems, when a product that defines a common bank is removed or uninstalled, the associated bank descriptor is typically not cleared. That is, even after a product that defines a common bank is removed or uninstalled, the bank descriptor may still describe the no-longer-available common bank.
When a software subsystem with a specialized memory bank (hereinafter referred to as a gate bank) dedicated to the software subsystem is installed, the gate bank can be designated a BDI. However, because the bank descriptor located at the designated BDI may not be empty, and may instead describe an old common bank, loading of the software subsystem may fail. Loading failure of software subsystems resulting from gate banks being designated. BDIs associated with bank descriptors that are not empty are common in conventional systems.
Traditionally, the aforementioned loading problem has been resolved by performing a system reboot. After the reboot, the bank descriptor no longer describes the common bank, allowing the software subsystem to be successfully loaded. However, performing a system reboot adversely impacts system performance. For example, all applications running in a computer system are stopped by a system reboot and must be restarted after the reboot, and the services of the computer system are not available to users until after the reboot.